ANC elections head Fikile Mbalula said on Thursday that SA was a "banana republic" because it allowed foreign nationals with no legal papers to run businesses. Mbalula was providing feedback from the ANC to Soweto community members at the Orlando Community Hall, following violent protests and the looting of foreign-owned spaza shops in White City, a few weeks ago. He said the government needed to regulate foreign nationals who owned spaza shops for the sustainability of businesses owned by locals. As things stand‚ opined Mbalula‚ the country was a "banana republic to foreign nationals"‚ whom he accused of coming into the country as political refugees only to start trading illegally. Worse still‚ he added‚ foreign nationals who owned spaza shops were "not paying tax because they keep their money under mattress". "Even in the fallen Zimbabwe you cannot find people doing as they please. But in SA [foreign business owners] even take our jobs. Do you know why? Because SA is a banana repu...

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